We the reader cheer our hero, the rat (is that possible??) as he weaves story after story to save his life. We cheer because he cleverly weaves tales we recognize, yet the cast of characters now resemble the rat's extended family. Hugely entertaining. ONCE UPON A time, in a grand castle, there lived a rat named Bob, who was fond of baking and wild about reading. So begins Bob's quest to save himself from being eaten by Muffin and Brutus, the Queen's cats. How does Bob attempt to escape their claws? By telling them fractured fairy tales about his whole rat family (and feeding them cookies).